Written Answers Tuesday 15 April 2008

Scottish Executive

Birds

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when a trial to trap and translocate sparrowhawks from around pigeon lofts (a) commenced and (b) will end, and who will carry out this task.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project, established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007, has commenced and, if so, on what date.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive in what areas the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project, established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007, will take place.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project, established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007, will take place during the sparrowhawk breeding season.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive who is funding the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what external oversight has been incorporated into the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to trials of loft-based measures as alternatives to the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project established following the announcement by the Minister for Environment on 16 November 2007.

Michael Russell: It was not possible to finalise arrangements for the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation research project planned for this spring. It was evident that there would have been an inadequate period for the project to collect results before there would have been a risk of relocated adult sparrowhawks leaving dependent young. It is expected that the research project will resume in the autumn, provided that all legal and animal welfare requirements are satisfactorily resolved.

Birds

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that it is appropriate to trap and translocate sparrowhawks from around pigeon lofts during the sparrowhawk breeding season and whether it has previously made any statements on this.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government will not support any project that runs the risk of trapping and relocating adult sparrowhawks while they have eggs in their nest or dependent young. Scottish ministers are not aware of any previous public statements being made on this issue.

Birds

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has received on the compatibility of the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ guidelines on reintroduction and translocation.

Michael Russell: The sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project has been postponed until after the 2008 breeding season. The Scottish Government takes the view that the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project is outwith the scope of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources guidelines on reintroduction and translocation. The guidelines state that :

  "Re-introductions or translocations of species for short-term, sporting or commercial purposes - where there is no intention to establish a viable population - are a different issue and beyond the scope of these guidelines."

  The sparrowhawk translocation project is not aimed at establishing a long-term viable population in a new location. The project is aimed at providing research evidence to assist in assessing whether translocation of individual birds can reduce or eliminate predation losses suffered by owners of pigeons.

Birds

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what licences will be issued to cover the sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project; under what legislation they will be issued, and how such licences will be publicised.

Michael Russell: The sparrowhawk trapping and relocation project has been postponed until after the 2008 breeding season. Licences for the project will be required under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is not normal practice to publicise the issue of individual licences.

Building Standards

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in taking forward the recommendations of the Sullivan Report, A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland .

Stewart Stevenson: The work programme commenced by the Scottish Building Standards Agency will continue to be taken forward by Scottish building standards, a part of the directorate for the built environment. Working party meetings with the industry have already begun to consider recommendations relating to both the compliance issues and the proposed changes to the energy standards of the building regulations. Research is also being undertaken to consider the financial implications of the recommendations.

Cardiac Surgery

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase access to cardiac rehabilitation for angina patients, as recommended by the British Heart Foundation.

Nicola Sturgeon: The evidence which suggests that people who undergo a "step change" in their condition, such as unstable angina, new onset angina or heart failure, also benefit from cardiac rehabilitation will be reflected in our refreshed strategy, which is due to be published on a consultative basis in the near future.

  We would expect the cardiac MCN in each NHS board area to take the lead in developing suitable programmes.

Cardiac Surgery

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it proposes to increase access to cardiac rehabilitation, as recommended by the British Heart Foundation.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Cardiac Managed Clinical Networks in each board area are responsible for cardiac rehabilitation programmes in their area and ensuring appropriate access including encouraging participation of groups which historically have tended to be excluded, such as women, older people and those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

  The revised CHD and Stroke Strategy due for publication this summer, will take account of key messages from the cardiac rehabilitation campaign being undertaken by the British Heart Foundation Scotland and Chest Heart Stroke Scotland to develop and improve access to services.

Carers

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers in 2006-07 who did not go into education, training or employment were identified as carers.

Maureen Watt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Children

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action can be taken to ensure that court orders are adhered to with regard to family contact centres.

Fergus Ewing: An order for contact is made under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the court can specify where that contact should take place. If a contact order is breached by either party, the court may be asked to consider the circumstances of that breach, and can impose a fine, a prison sentence, or switch residency of the child to the other parent. When making any decision regarding a child, the court will hold the best interests of the child as its paramount concern.

Children

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Children and Early Years last visited a family contact centre in Glasgow.

Adam Ingram: I have not yet had the opportunity to visit a child contact centre in Glasgow. My office is in discussion with Relationships Scotland to arrange a visit to one of the 30 local services which provides child contact facilities.

Children's Hearings System

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether they will issue guidance to children’s reporters and hearings to prevent inappropriate discharges from supervision shortly before young people reach the minimum school leaving age and thus the threshold for aftercare support.

Adam Ingram: Discharge from supervision is a matter for individual Children’s Hearings. However, members of the children’s panels receive training which contains specific provision on the factors to consider when a hearing is being asked or is considering termination of a supervision requirement. In the light of the recent report by the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People on the Age of Leaving Care the officers responsible for delivering training will review the material and reinforce it as necessary.

Class Sizes

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of P1 to P3 pupils across the Lothians were in class sizes of (a) 18 and under, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30 and (d) over 30 in each school year from 2003-04 to 2007-08, broken down by school.

Maureen Watt: Information of class sizes for each year, broken down by school, is available on the Scottish Government website, using the following link:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/ClassSizeDatasets .

Communities

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is available to communities that have suffered infrastructure damage due to heavy storms.

John Swinney: As local authorities have a general duty to deal with emergencies there is no automatic entitlement to special financial assistance. In exceptional circumstances, however, local authorities can apply under the Bellwin Scheme for additional revenue funding to assist with the immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

  Full details of the Bellwin Scheme can be found on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/Bellwin.

Communities Scotland

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-10709 and S3W-10710 by Stewart Maxwell on 12 March 2008, when the information on savings to be achieved by abolishing Communities Scotland will become available.

Stewart Maxwell: Following the abolition of Communities Scotland on 31 March 2008, I can confirm that the saving of £1.7 million that we have achieved will be a yearly amount, available from 2008-09 onwards. There is no capital saving. The split between staff and administration is approximately two-thirds staff, one third administration.

Construction Industry

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it endorses the Construction Licensing Executive and its role in driving best business practice.

Jim Mather: We support the work of the Construction Licensing Executive (CLE) in its efforts to isolate rogue traders and promote best practice in the Scottish construction industry. We have also liaised with the CLE and others in the development of a trusted trader approach in Scotland, which will further help homeowners throughout Scotland make an informed choice about choosing a contractor suitable for them.

Cycling

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each NHS board area were injured in cycling accidents in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many resulted in (a) head injuries and (b) fatalities, and how many in each category were children.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of hospital admissions due to cycling accidents in each of the last five years is shown in table 1, while table 2 shows the number of deaths due to cycling accidents.

  Table 1. Number of Hospital Episodes as a Result of a Cycling Accident by NHS Board of Residence; for All Ages and Children; for all Injuries and only Head Injuries; for Financial Years of Discharge 2002-03 to 2006-07

  

 NHS Board of Residence
 2002-03
 2003-04


 All Ages
 Children
 All Ages
 Children


 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries


 Ayrshire and Arran
 94
 35
 57
 25
 102
 49
 62
 33


 Borders
 32
 12
 22
 11
 19
 13
 13
 8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 31
 11
 15
 7
 27
 8
 12
 3


 Fife
 78
 36
 53
 28
 74
 30
 52
 23


 Forth Valley
 56
 24
 37
 17
 60
 26
 40
 21


 Grampian
 166
 84
 106
 60
 205
 102
 124
 70


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 195
 82
 130
 64
 212
 98
 141
 77


 Highland
 99
 40
 46
 19
 109
 48
 51
 25


 Lanarkshire
 92
 40
 66
 31
 115
 45
 82
 34


 Lothian
 147
 53
 89
 39
 156
 56
 88
 33


 Orkney
 6
 4
 5
 3
 2
 2
 2
 2


 Shetland
 12
 7
 9
 6
 4
 1
 3
 -


 Tayside
 70
 27
 38
 16
 89
 29
 44
 15


 Western Isles
 8
 3
 5
 3
 7
 3
 4
 2


 Scotland
 1,086
 458
 678
 329
 1,181
 510
 718
 346



  

 NHS Board of Residence
 2004-05
 2005-06


 All Ages
 Children
 All Ages
 Children


 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries


 Ayrshire and Arran
 101
 44
 54
 32
 87
 35
 55
 26


 Borders
 31
 19
 19
 12
 25
 11
 12
 6


 Dumfries and Galloway
 34
 9
 18
 6
 24
 5
 10
 2


 Fife
 91
 40
 51
 27
 56
 22
 32
 17


 Forth Valley
 74
 40
 53
 31
 70
 28
 51
 22


 Grampian
 172
 100
 108
 77
 167
 78
 95
 53


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 163
 65
 89
 41
 163
 76
 87
 50


 Highland
 117
 56
 54
 29
 78
 26
 40
 15


 Lanarkshire
 60
 18
 45
 14
 74
 30
 57
 24


 Lothian
 173
 56
 93
 41
 189
 62
 105
 44


 Orkney
 8
 2
 6
 -
 7
 3
 3
 2


 Shetland
 2
 -
 2
 -
 1
 1
 -
 -


 Tayside
 86
 34
 42
 16
 68
 21
 34
 14


 Western Isles
 1
 1
 -
 -
 4
 2
 2
 1


 Scotland
 1,113
 484
 634
 326
 1,013
 400
 583
 276



  

 NHS Board of Residence
 2006-07


 All Ages
 Children


 All Injuries
 Head Injuries
 All Injuries
 Head Injuries


 Ayrshire and Arran
 91
 27
 54
 20


 Borders
 41
 17
 22
 8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 32
 7
 10
 1


 Fife
 78
 34
 40
 19


 Forth Valley
 54
 26
 30
 18


 Grampian
 146
 59
 77
 46


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 151
 60
 77
 40


 Highland
 114
 53
 49
 31


 Lanarkshire
 78
 25
 46
 17


 Lothian
 165
 77
 76
 42


 Orkney
 5
 1
 2
 1


 Shetland
 3
 1
 1
 1


 Tayside
 101
 35
 50
 19


 Western Isles
 6
 4
 3
 2


 Scotland
 1,065
 426
 537
 265



  Table 2. Number of Deaths as a Result of a Cycling Accident by NHS Board of Residence; for All Ages and Children; for Calendar Years 2002 to 2006

  

 NHS Board of Residence
 2002
 2003
 2004


 All Ages
 Children
 All ages
 Children
 All ages
 Children


 Ayrshire and Arran
 -
 -
 2
 1
 -
 -


 Borders
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Fife
 2
 -
 1
 -
 1
 -


 Forth Valley
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Grampian
 1
 -
 4
 -
 -
 -


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Highland
 2
 -
 3
 -
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Lothian
 1
 -
 2
 -
 2
 -


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 -
 -
 2
 -
 1
 -


 Western Isles
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Scotland
 9
 -
 15
 1
 6
 -



  

 NHS Board of Residence
 2005
 2006


 All Ages
 Children
 All Ages
 Children


 Ayrshire and Arran
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Borders
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 -
 1
 -


 Fife
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Forth Valley
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Grampian
 4
 2
 3
 -


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 5
 -
 3
 3


 Highland
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 3
 1
 1
 1


 Lothian
 -
 -
 1
 1


 Orkney
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tayside
 1
 1
 1
 -


 Western Isles
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Scotland
 16
 4
 11
 5

Dentistry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on waiting lists for registration with a dentist in rural and island areas of the need for dental practices to comply with the recommendations of the Glennie report on decontamination and what the outcome was of any such assessment.

Shona Robison: The responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in an area rests with the NHS board for that area. The Scottish Government do not hold waiting lists for NHS dental treatment.

  The Glennie Report, which was commissioned by the previous administration, highlighted a number of issues facing the dental profession as a whole. We will however, take the opportunity to take account of the impact on the number of people not registered with a dentist when the new dental strategy group is formed.

  A number of financial measures are in place to recruit and retain dentists in the NHS, including a remote areas allowance. We are also working to continue to increase the dental workforce in Scotland.

Diabetes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients undergoing diabetic retinopathy screening are waiting for formal reporting for (a) level 1, (b) level 2 and (c) level 3 grading in each NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: On 8 April 2008 the total numbers of examinations awaiting reporting from grading for each NHS board was as follows:

  

 NHS Board
 Level 1
 Level 2
 Level 3


 Ayrshire and Arran
 26
 1
 2


 Borders
 19
 33
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0
 0


 Fife
 40
 0
 2


 Forth Valley
 62
 0
 36


 Grampian
 764
 2
 6


 Greater Glasgow
 510
 23
 272


 Argyll and Clyde*
 172
 0
 0


 Highland
 385
 7
 0


 Lanarkshire
 150
 0
 9


 Lothian
 1495
 408
 0


 Orkney
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 0
 0
 0


 Tayside
 277
 102
 11


 Western Isles
 5
 0
 1



  Source: Scottish Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Collaborative

  Note: *All IT systems which use the community health index number, such as the diabetic retinopathy screening programme, are still organised on the basis of 15 NHS boards. Work is in hand to update to remove the NHS Argyll and Clyde cipher and replace it with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde or NHS Highland as appropriate.

Diabetes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients undergoing diabetic retinopathy screening are waiting for slit lamp examination in each NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: On 7 April 2008 the total numbers of people who are due to be examined by slit lamp over the next 12 months and do not currently have an appointment was as follows (by NHS board of residence):

  

 Ayrshire and Arran 
 1,580


 Borders 
 207


 Dumfries and Galloway
 71


 Fife 
 718


 Forth Valley
 1,712


 Grampian
 1,298


 Greater Glasgow
 1,293


 Argyll and Clyde*
 956


 Highland
 492


 Lanarkshire
 834


 Lothian
 2,655


 Orkney
 4


 Shetland
 1


 Tayside
 402


 Western Isles
 6



  Source: Scottish Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Collaborative.

  Note: *All IT systems which use the community health index number, such as the diabetic retinopathy screening programme, are still organised on the basis of 15 NHS boards. Work is in hand to update to remove the NHS Argyll and Clyde cipher and replace it with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde or NHS Highland as appropriate.

Diabetes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long the diabetic retinopathy screening targets are for (a) level 1, (b) level 2, (c) level 3 and (d) slit lamp grading in each NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The NHS QIS clinical standard for reporting is "A minimum of 80% of people screened are sent the result in writing within four weeks (20 working days) of the photograph being taken."

Diabetes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have received annual diabetic retinopathy screening in each NHS board in each of the last three years.

Nicola Sturgeon: 2005–06

  

 NHS Board
 Recorded within Last 15 Months
Recorded Over15 Months Ago
 Not Known
 Totals


 Argyll and Clyde
 5,010
 65.3%
 1,525
 19.9%
 1,139
 14.8%
 7,674


 Ayrshire and Arran (a)
 10,507
 78.3%
 0
 0.0%
 2,907
 21.7%
 13,414


 Borders
 2,982
 73.7%
 0
 0.0%
 1,064
 26.3%
 4,046


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3,286
 56.9%
 1,593
 27.6%
 898
 15.5%
 5,777


 Fife
 9,762
 70.9%
 2,308
 16.8%
 1,704
 12.4%
 13,774


 Forth Valley
 7,562
 70.3%
 1,795
 16.7%
 1,407
 13.1%
 10,764


 Grampian
 12,457
 77.9%
 1,392
 8.7%
 2,142
 13.4%
 15,991


 Greater Glasgow
 16,870
 53.2%
 7,998
 25.2%
 6,816
 21.5%
 31,684


 Highland
 4,399
 80.1%
 71
 1.3%
 1,025
 18.7%
 5,495


 Lanarkshire
 13,213
 65.2%
 2,611
 12.9%
 4,433
 21.9%
 20,257


 Lothian
 15,972
 61.8%
 7,310
 28.3%
 2,562
 9.9%
 25,844


 Orkney
 596
 80.8%
 31
 4.2%
 111
 15.0%
 738


 Shetland
 483
 64.8%
 21
 2.8%
 241
 32.3%
 745


 Tayside
 12,391
 85.1%
 1,266
 8.7%
 911
 6.3%
 14,568


 Western Isles
 799
 87.5%
 106
 11.6%
 8
 0.9%
 913


 Scotland 2005
 116,289
 67.7%
 28,027
 16.3%
 27,368
 15.9%
 171,684



  2006–07

  

 NHS Board
 Screened Within Last 15 Months
 Screened Over 15 Months Ago
 Not Known
 Totals


 Argyll and Clyde
 10,248
 66.0%
 3,293
 21.2%
 1,978
 12.7%
 15,519


 Ayrshire and Arran
 11,780
 79.1%
 1,936
 13.0%
 1,184
 7.9%
 14,900


 Borders
 3,458
 78.5%
 601
 13.6%
 345
 7.8%
 4,404


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5,325
 82.9%
 613
 9.5%
 485
 7.6%
 6,423


 Fife
 10,772
 74.4%
 2,472
 17.1%
 1,241
 8.6%
 14,485


 Forth Valley
 8,456
 72.7%
 1,785
 15.4%
 1,386
 11.9%
 11,627


 Grampian
 14,035
 77.6%
 2,075
 11.5%
 1,978
 10.9%
 18,088


 Greater Glasgow
 18,156
 53.4%
 11,135
 32.9%
 4,678
 13.8%
 33,969


 Highland
 5,685
 72.4%
 1,131
 14.4%
 1,040
 13.2%
 7,856


 Lanarkshire
 14,508
 65.2%
 3,687
 16.6%
 4,046
 18.2%
 22,241


 Lothian
 21,158
 75.6%
 4,629
 16.5%
 2,200
 7.9%
 27,987


 Orkney
 710
 87.9%
 43
 5.3%
 55
 6.8%
 808


 Shetland
 624
 75.5%
 108
 13.1%
 94
 11.4%
 826


 Tayside
 12,944
 83.1%
 1,669
 10.7%
 972
 6.2%
 15,585


 Western Isles
 612
 61.3%
 295
 29.5%
 92
 9.2%
 999


 Scotland 2006
 138,471
 70.8%
 35,472
 18.1%
 21,774
 11.1%
 195,717



  2007-08

  

 NHS Board
 Screened Within Last 15 Months
 Screened Over 15 Months Ago
 Not Recorded/Not Known
 Totals


 Ayrshire and Arran
 13,721
 86%
 1,421
 8.9%
 785
 4.9%
 15,927


 Borders
 3,415
 75%
 792
 17.3%
 375
 8.2%
 4582


 Dumfries and Galloway
 6,071
 90%
 358
 5.3%
 304
 4.5%
 6733


 Fife
 13,518
 88%
 1,083
 7.1%
 729
 4.8%
 15,330


 Forth Valley
 10,662
 88%
 909
 7.5%
 569
 4.7%
 12,140


 Grampian
 17,008
 82%
 2,084
 10.0%
 1,785
 8.6%
 20,877


 Greater Glasgow
 38,644
 80%
 5,646
 11.6%
 4,086
 8.4%
 48,376


 Highland
 9,545
 80%
 1,348
 11.2%
 1,036
 8.6%
 11,929


 Lanarkshire
 19,923
 84%
 2,219
 9.4%
 1,590
 6.7%
 23,732


 Lothian
 25,404
 86%
 2,622
 8.8%
 1,688
 5.7%
 29,714


 Orkney
 739
 90%
 59
 7.2%
 21
 2.5%
 819


 Shetland
 628
 74%
 156
 18.3%
 69
 8.1%
 853


 Tayside
 14,205
 86%
 1,438
 8.6%
 977
 5.9%
 16,620


 Western Isles
 897
 88%
 71
 7.0%
 52
 5.1%
 1020


 Scotland 2007
 174,380
 83.5%
 20,206
 9.7%
 14,066
 6.7%
 208,652



  Source: Scottish Diabetes Survey.

Diabetes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in implementing the diabetic retinopathy screening programme across Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: The national overview follow-up report published by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and Diabetes UK Scotland in March 2008 of boards’ performance against the diabetes clinical standards confirmed that a national diabetic retinal screening programme is available across NHSScotland. It noted that IT difficulties remained in some boards, and work is in hand to resolve these as a matter of urgency.

  Progress is monitored regularly by the diabetic retinopathy screening programme’s executive board, which reports to the Scottish Diabetes Group. This reflects the priority given by the Scottish Diabetes Framework and action plan to the programme.

Domestic Abuse

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in setting up the short-life working group to develop information on women with no recourse to public funds who have experienced domestic abuse.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the report will be published of the short-life working group to develop information on women with no recourse to public funds who have experienced domestic abuse.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report of the short-life working group to develop information on women with no recourse to public funds who have experienced domestic abuse will be included in the code of guidance on homelessness.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report of the short-life working group to develop information on women with no recourse to public funds who have experienced domestic abuse will be included in guidance to local authorities on providing accommodation and funding to women experiencing domestic abuse.

Stewart Maxwell: A short-life working group has recently been established by the Scottish Government to examine possible options to help women with no recourse to public funds. In addition to Scottish Government officials, Scottish Women’s Aid, COSLA, Shakti Women’s Aid and Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid are among its members. Its first meeting took place in February 2008 and it is due to meet again in May 2008.

  The working group is currently gathering information and considering options and it is too early therefore to be definitive on the nature and form of any guidance to be produced in due course. The intention is that the group will make recommendations on the suggested way forward later this year. While it is not intended to publish a formal report, the recommendations will be in the public domain.

Education

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the number of physical attacks by pupils on pupils in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Maureen Watt: This information is not collected centrally.

Education

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers were attacked in schools in the Lothians in each of the last five years, broken down by school for which the information is available.

Maureen Watt: This information is not collected centrally. The most recent collection of incidents of violence or antisocial behaviour against school staff related to 2002-03. The results are available on the Scottish Government website using the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/01/18797/ExcelSpreadsheet .

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of work-based mentoring projects by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd will be published; which minister has responsibility for such projects, and when the report will be made public.

Maureen Watt: The Review of Work-based Mentoring Approaches report was undertaken by Eddy Adams Consultants Ltd to provide a better understanding of the role work-based mentoring can play in developing the skills and employability of young people in Scotland. This report and the wider policy review of the Get Ready for Work programme, within which this research sits, falls within the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop’s, portfolio. It is our intention to publish this report shortly.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget was for the Get Ready for Work programme in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 and what the throughput was in each year.

Maureen Watt: This information is not held centrally as operational responsibility for Get Ready for Work is a matter for Skills Development Scotland. However, we do on this occasion have the statistics requested and have attached them below for your convenience:

  

 Year
 Annual Budget (£)
 Number of Participants


 2006-07
 22,846,297
 10,168


 2007-08
 24,605,479
 8,423*



  Note: *Statistics are not yet available for the fourth quarter (31 December to 31 March) of 2007-08 so the number of participants reflects statistics for the first three quarters of that financial year only.

Employment

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had ministerial discussions, or made any representations on behalf of Scottish business, in respect of the UK Government’s withdrawal of the exemption for National Insurance contribution-free holiday pay for construction industry operatives.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has not had ministerial discussions or made any representations on behalf of Scottish business in respect of the withdrawal of the exemption for National Insurance contribution-free holiday pay for the construction industry.

  I understand that the exemption from National Insurance Contributions of holiday pay via a third party was removed for all sectors except the construction industry, via secondary legislation laid before the UK Parliament, on 9 October 2007 and took effect on 30 October 2007. These regulations also introduced a five year transitional period for the construction industry, before the exemption is completely withdrawn on 30 October 2012.

Employment

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the concerns in the construction industry about the adequacy of the business impact assessment carried out by the UK Government in respect of withdrawal of the exemption for National Insurance contribution-free holiday pay for construction industry operatives and, if so, what action it has taken to address such concerns.

Jim Mather: Any concerns that the construction industry in Scotland may have about the business impact assessment associated with the withdrawal of the exemption for National Insurance contribution-free holiday pay for the sector, have not been raised directly with the Scottish Government.

  However, should the industry have concerns, we would expect this matter to be debated in future meetings with the Scottish Construction Forum and the Scottish Building Federation and also for these organisations to be raising the matter direct with the UK Government.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its report on the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support.

Jim Mather: The report on the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland will be published on the Scottish Government website by the end of April 2008.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward an energy efficiency strategy.

Jim Mather: The consultation on the draft Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy closed on 12 June 2007 and individual responses have been published on the Scottish Government website. We have been analysing the response and will publish a summary report in spring 2008. This will give the government’s response to the consultation and outline our next steps.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the delivery of energy efficiency and microgeneration support; whether such support is targeted and, if so, to whom.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is taking a great deal of action to improve the delivery of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland including:

  A new one-stop-shop for domestic consumers in Scotland providing advice on energy efficiency, micro-renewables and transport. The "Energy Saving Scotland advice network" has more ambitious targets to reach twice as many people and produce four times the carbon savings;

  From autumn 2008, rolling out a new "Home Help" service providing intensive support to help households make the right choices about microgeneration;

  Next year allocating nearly £9 million in grants to support community and household microgeneration projects;

  From December 2008, introducing the "Home Report" for house purchasers – this will include a comprehensive report on the energy efficiency of a property in advance of submitting a bid;

  Developing a CERT Strategy to ensure that Scottish households get the maximum benefit from the new Carbon Emissions Reduction Target;

  Reviewing our Fuel Poverty programmes to ensure that they are operating fairly across Scotland and seeking opportunities to strengthen the links with energy efficiency and climate change objectives;

  Developing tools and guidance for communities to help them gain maximum benefit from renewable projects;

  Providing additional advice and financial support to small businesses to help them invest in microgeneration. This includes investment of a further £2 million in our successful loan scheme, and

  Better targeting support to business and the public sector through the Carbon Trust.

  We are also making use of the findings of the independent review of energy efficiency and microgeneration support in Scotland, along with the responses to the draft energy efficiency and microgeneration strategy consultation, to help inform future policy development and action for improving and streamlining delivery.

  In addition, we are carrying out a range of activities designed to enhance the planning and building standards systems including; publishing a Planning Advice Note to support the SPP6 policy for on-site zero and low carbon equipment; a consultation paper on permitted development rights for domestic microgeneration equipment; considering the recommendations of the Sullivan report which related to the energy performance of buildings, and a consultation on proposals for improving the energy performance of existing buildings is currently being drafted.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will launch the £4 million energy efficiency fund for universities and colleges.

Jim Mather: Managed by Salix on behalf of the Scottish Government, the energy efficiency fund for Scotland’s universities and colleges has been operational since January 2008. The original £4 million investment from government will leverage additional funding now bringing the total funding for energy saving projects to £6.7 million.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9274 by Jim Mather on 28 February 2008, how the proposed one-stop-shop advice network will help householders to take action on energy efficiency.

Jim Mather: The one-stop-shop advice network will provide free and impartial advice and practical support to householders on all aspects of sustainable energy including energy efficiency, renewables and transport. This will be achieved with a range of activities including telephone advice, home visits and marketing campaigns targeted at householders.

  The network will help householders find the right solution for their individual needs, signpost them to any financial assistance that may be available and help them find suitably qualified trades people.

  The network will also act as a gateway for other energy services and will make referrals to other programmes such as Scottish Government fuel poverty schemes and wider local authority carbon saving initiatives.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9274 by Jim Mather on 28 February 2008, when the proposed one-stop-shop advice network will go live.

Jim Mather: The one-stop-shop advice network, known as the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Network, went live on 1 April 2008.

Enterprise

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what role the new skills agency will play in the sector skills agreement and action plan for the building services engineering industry in Scotland.

Fiona Hyslop: The sector skills agreement for the building services engineering industry in Scotland will be launched on 17 April by SummitSkills, the sector skills council for the sector.

  The agreement includes an action plan for the sector. SummitSkills will be responsible for taking this forward, working in partnership with key stakeholders such as Skills Development Scotland.

European Funding

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support programmes, such as the Wellbeing initiative in Glasgow, whose funding may suffer as a result of any reductions in European Social Fund Priority 1 money available to Scotland.

John Swinney: Scottish Government will be making funding available for third sector organisations through the £30 million Scottish Investment Fund and the related third sector development programme. Details of the criteria and process for organisations to access funding are currently being developed and will be publicised widely when available. These funds will be for organisations with financially sustainable business plans and not specifically related to previous funding sources.

Farming

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers and crofters entered into Scottish Natural Heritage land management agreements which required them to reduce their livestock numbers and, of these, which were in operation for all, or part of, the 2000-02 single farm payment reference period, broken down by SGRPID area office area.

Michael Russell: The number of farmers and crofters who had Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) land management agreements requiring a reduction in livestock numbers over the single farm payment (SFP) reference period of 2000-02 is shown in the first column of the following table. The second and third columns show the number of farmers and crofters who had SNH land management agreements over the same period which restricted proposed increases in livestock numbers, and those where there was a mixture of both. Some of these management agreements may have expired since the SFP reference period. The figures are broken down by SNH Area rather than SGRPID Area Office Area as this is how they are recorded.

  Number of SNH Management Agreements with Farmers and Crofters that  Reduced/Restricted Increases in Livestock Numbers during the Single Farm Payment Reference Period of 2000-021

  

 SNH Area
 Reduction in Livestock Numbers
 Restriction of Proposed Increase in Livestock Numbers
 Cases Where a Mixture of Both
 Total


 Argyll and Stirling
 2
 18
 0
 20


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 4
 0
 5


 East Highland
 1
 0
 0
 1


 Forth and Borders
 0
 6
 0
 6


 Grampian
 0
 9
 0
 9


 North Highland
 0
 13
 0
 13


 Northern Isles
 4
 69
 3
 76


 Strathclyde and Ayrshire
 4
 19
 0
 23


 Tayside and Clacks
 1
 5
 0
 6


 West Highland
 2
 1
 0
 3


 Western Isles
 0
 4
 1
 5


 Total
 15
 148
 4
 167



  Note: 1. These figures are based on best available information held centrally by SNH.

Finance

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-6444 by John Swinney on 22 November 2007, when it will publish the delivery plans for the new Efficient Government Programme for 2008 to 2011.

John Swinney: We have today published the first iteration of the Efficiency Delivery Plans. The Delivery Plans provide more information on the projects and how the efficiencies will be measured, monitored and delivered. Copies of the notes have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45314) and they are also available on the Scottish Government website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/EDPMarch2008 .

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information about flood defences for homes and businesses.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency provides information about flood defences for homes and businesses on its website. Specific information about the type of products available for flood prevention can be found at:

  www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/publications/leaflets/flood/alleviation.pdf.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a dedicated telephone number to provide a quick and easy way for the public to get answers to flood-related problems and questions.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Floodline 0845 988 1188 is a 24 hour telephone number available to the public that gives the option of listening to a recorded message for a local area or being put through to an operator to answer any other flood-related problems and questions. Operators can put the public through to specialist staff to answer more specific or specialized questions.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for designating an area as being at a high risk of flooding.

Michael Russell: Where the annual risk of flooding is greater than 1%, an area is considered to be at a high risk of flooding.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much housebuilding, sanctioned by planning authorities, has been carried out in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 to date on flood plains.

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much housebuilding, sanctioned by planning authorities, has been carried out in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 to date on coastal areas designated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as being at high risk of flooding.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) flood map shows an estimate of the areas of Scotland with a 0.5% or greater probability of being flooded in any given year – in other words, those areas estimated to have a one in 200 or greater chance of being flooded in any given year. It provides an indication of areas likely to flood but is not appropriate for assessing risk to individual properties and cannot replace studies at a local scale. Information on housing developments approved by planning authorities in these areas is not held centrally.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what efficiency savings are generated each year within the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s flood protection programme; whether these are sufficient to meet inflationary pressures so that spending in real terms is maintained, and how these inflationary pressures are being met to ensure that flood protection is well funded.

Michael Russell: While responsibility for flood warning schemes rests with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), it is for local authorities to determine the most appropriate flood alleviation measures for their areas. £126 million for such measures is included in the local government settlement for 2008-09 to 2010-11, and the distribution took into account existing flood alleviation commitments and flood risk.

  SEPA’s efficiency savings are generated across the range of its activities and not attributed to any one particular service. They are then deployed over the organisation as a whole to ensure delivery of key priorities and objectives including its flood warning programme.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the population lives in coastal areas liable to flooding from the sea.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government does not have details of the population living in coastal areas liable to flooding from the sea. However, an in-house GIS analysis of the Indicative River and Coastal Flood Map (Scotland) published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) identifies the number of properties where the risk of flooding from the sea is more than the 0.5% annual probability.

  Some 26,000 properties in Scotland are situated in the coastal flood zone as mapped by SEPA. This is about 1.0% of all residential and other properties in Scotland.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been made by it and local authorities of total public expenditure on sea coastal defences against flooding over the next (a) five and (b) 10 years.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has not made estimates over these timescales nor do we differentiate between coastal flooding defence expenditure and other flood prevention or coast protection expenditure.

  The government has distributed £126 million to local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection over the period 2008-11, rolled up into local authorities’ capital grant. It is, of course, for the local authority to decide how to allocate the total package of capital funding at its disposal according to local priorities.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the impact that carbon emission limiting measures currently in force will have on reducing the risks of sea flooding between now and 2040.

Michael Russell: Measures to reduce emissions in Scotland will, by themselves, have no significant impact on reducing flood risk. Climate change is a global issue: it will require emission reductions at the global level to reduce its impacts. The Scottish Government has, however, taken steps to assess the impacts of climate change on Scotland. In connection with flood risk, in 2003 it published Climate Change: Review of Levels of Protection Offered by Flood Prevention Schemes UKCIP02 Update, available on the Scottish Government website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18789/32039 .

  This research provides an overview of the expected increased river and coastal flood risk in Scotland as a result of predicted climate change.

  The future climate scenarios used as the basis of the above research were published by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) in 2002, available at www.ukcip.org.uk, under the assumption of medium-high global emissions with the resulting increase in global temperature of 3.3 Celsius. The UKCIP climate scenarios, including sea level rise, do not specifically take account of global or national strategies to mitigate climate change through emissions reductions measures and policies. The scenarios are based on assumptions of different development paths for the world ranging from low emissions development through to high emissions development.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reinforce flood defences against rising water levels resulting from global warming.

Michael Russell: It is for local authorities to determine what steps need to be taken to improve flood defences in the light of climate change.

  However, the Scottish Government has published its research on Climate Change: Flooding Occurrences Review (2002) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/03/10817/File-1.

  Climate Change: Review of Levels of Protection Offered by Flood Prevention Schemes UKCIP02 update (2003) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18789/32039.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made of the likely effect of coastal erosion and collapse in areas of vulnerable coastline around the mainland and islands and what further measures it will consider to deal with coastal erosion and collapse in these areas.

Michael Russell: Under the Coast Protection Act, 1949, local authorities have wide powers to carry out coast protection work, as may appear to them to be necessary or expedient for the protection of any land from coastal erosion. However, it is for local authorities to determine when to use these powers in light of the needs of their local area.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total project value was of the flood risk management schemes started in each year from 2000 to 2008.

Michael Russell: The total project value of the flood prevention schemes under the 1961 act which started in each year from 2000 to 2008 is in the following table:

  

 Financial Year
Total Project Value(£)


 1999-2000
 125,752.00


 2000-01
 12,967,040.00


 2001-02
 1,934,230.80


 2002-03
 10,969,307.00


 2003-04
 4,026,898.00


 2004-05
 1,354,107.00


 2005-06
 -


 2006-07
 67,635,745.72


 2007-08
 89,556,070.00

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements are planned to the existing flood defences around the coastline of the Forth Estuary.

Michael Russell: Improvements to existing flood defences are a matter for local authorities to determine. Any planned improvements to existing flood defences around the coastline of the Forth Estuary lie with the relevant local authorities and not the Scottish Government.

  On 13 August 2007, the Scottish Government confirmed to Falkirk Council the Bo’ness Flood Prevention Scheme. The £8 million Bo’ness scheme proposes improving defences to provide continuous embankment/barriers along the foreshore of the Forth between Kinniel in the west to Carriden at the east of the town to protect the town centre from tidal floods.

Flood Prevention

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements are planned to the existing flood defences around the coastline of Fife.

Michael Russell: Improvements to existing flood defences are a matter for local authorities to determine. Any planned improvements to existing flood defences around the coastline of Fife lie with Fife Council and not the Scottish Government.

Forestry

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will create a sustainable balance between the use of forestry products for biomass against the need for availability of forestry products in the wood panel industry.

Michael Russell: We believe that the forecast supplies of wood from the forest sector, and the commercial and industrial waste streams highlighted in the Woodfuel Task Force report are sufficient to allow the panel industry and the biomass energy sector to continue to grow and develop alongside each other. The key issue is to ensure that the right material goes to the right market at the right time, and we will monitor the usage of biomass as the sector develops to help achieve this.

Forestry

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it recognises the contribution that the wood panel industry makes as an employer.

Michael Russell: We do, indeed, recognise and appreciate the significant contribution that the wood panel industry makes to Scottish employment and to the economy. We fully expect the sector to continue to play a leading role in this respect and in adding value to Scotland’s forest resource.

Forestry

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to ensure that all waste forestry products are fully utilised as biomass in the production of energy.

Michael Russell: I launched the Woodfuel Task Force in the summer of last year with the aim of increasing the supply of wood for renewable energy production. The utilisation of forestry residues was considered by the task force, and it features among the recommendations in their report. Our response to the report will be announced shortly, and a working group will be set up to monitor the implementation of the recommendations.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many falls by elderly patients were recorded in each hospital in each of the last five years.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of falls by elderly patients in each hospital is not held centrally.

  Following the work of the Falls Prevention Group, the Scottish Government published guidance last year for health boards, community health partnerships and others on actions to prevent falls by older people and improve bone health. The guidance is available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/OlderPeopleCare/fallsgroup.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what interim arrangements have been put in place to regulate registered social landlords.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government has established the Scottish Housing Regulator as an executive agency to undertake the regulation of social landlords. All regulatory guidance issued by Communities Scotland remains valid and is now the responsibility of the new body. The Scottish Housing Regulator has operational independence but is accountable to Scottish ministers, and through them to Parliament, for the standard of its work. These interim arrangements are expected to remain in place until the independent regulation of social housing can be placed on a statutory basis.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the consultation document on a new regulatory body for registered social landlords will be circulated.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government’s discussion document Firm Foundations: The Future of Housing in Scotland  included proposals for modernising the regulation of social housing. 85% of those who commented on these proposals indicated broad support for them. Following discussion with COSLA and other stakeholders over the coming months, the government will bring forward proposals for placing the independent regulation of social housing on a statutory basis.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties have benefited from the Rural Empty Properties Grant scheme since its inception, broken down by local authority area.

Stewart Maxwell: The following table details how many properties have benefited from the Rural Empty Properties Grant (REPG) scheme since its inception, broken down by local authority area.

  REPG Approvals from Start of Scheme

  

 Year of Approval
 Council Area
 Units Approved


 1998-99
 Highland
 7


 1999-00
 Aberdeenshire
 3


 Highland
 3


 Shetland
 1


 2000-01
 Angus
 3


 Fife
 2


 Highland
 2


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 Shetland
 2


 2001-02
 Highland
 4


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 Western Isles
 6


 2002-03
 Aberdeenshire
 1


 Highland
 2


 Moray
 1


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 2003-04
 Argyll and Bute
 1


 Angus
 2


 2004-05
 Highland
 1


 2005-06
 Orkney
 1


 Aberdeenshire
 1


 2006-07
 Aberdeenshire
 2


 Angus
 9


 Argyll and Bute
 18


 Highland
 4


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 2007-08
 Angus
 16


 Argyll and Bute
 4


 Highland
 1


 
 Total
 101

Housing

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to consult housing associations and the Parliament on the reorganisation of Communities Scotland.

Stewart Maxwell: I announced my intention to abolish Communities Scotland to Parliament on 31 October 2007 and this process was completed on 31 March. The Director for Housing and Regeneration has contacted key stakeholders, including the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, giving them details of the changes and the new structures for delivering the government’s housing and regeneration objectives.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much Housing Association Grant was allocated to Communities Scotland’s (a) Glasgow, (b) Grampian, (c) Highlands and Islands, (d) Lothians, Borders and Fife, (e) Argyll and Clyde, (f) South West Scotland and (g) Tayside and Forth Valley area offices in 2007-08.

Stewart Maxwell: The following table details the initial amount of Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) allocated to each area at the beginning of 2007-08. These figures will have changed over the course of the year and the final outturn figures will be published in due course. It should be noted that allocation of housing association grant only is not separately recorded.

  

 Area Office
AHIP Allocation
(£ Million)


 Glasgow City Council (TMDF)
£83


 Glasgow (GHA)
£68.4


 Highlands and Islands
£52.625


 Grampian
£32


 Lothian, Borders and Fife (excl CEC)
£49.145


 City of Edinburgh Council (TMDF)
£36.1


 Argyll and Clyde
£79.261


 South West
£84.5


 Tayside and Forth Valley
£54.824



  The figures above do not include the Shared Equity Open Market Pilot, Mortgage to Rent and AHIP Support costs.

Housing

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much Housing Association Grant has been allocated to Communities Scotland’s (a) Glasgow, (b) Grampian, (c) Highlands and Islands, (d) Lothians, Borders and Fife, (e) Argyll and Clyde, (f) South West Scotland and (g) Tayside and Forth Valley area offices in 2008-09.

Stewart Maxwell: I will announce the allocation of Affordable Housing Investment Programme resources to each area for 2008-09 shortly.

Interception of Communications

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the approval of Warrants for the Interception of Communications by judges instead of Scottish ministers.

Kenny MacAskill: We are content with the existing legislative arrangements.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the commitments made by the UK Government to the United Nations prior to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1192 (1998); what the implications are of these commitments, and what recourse it or any third party individual or organisation has to the courts to ensure that these commitments are fully adhered to by it and the UK Government.

Kenny MacAskill: It would be inappropriate to refer to any issue in the case which is before the courts. We have reviewed the commitments made by the UK and United States Governments in their letter of 24 August 1998, as referred to in the preamble to Security Council Resolution 1192 (1998) which were obviously given in order to secure the surrender of the two accused for trial. We have reminded the UK Government of those commitments, in particular the commitment that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would serve their sentence in the UK.

  The Scottish Government has no plans to depart from those commitments, but will need to consider the position in the event that an application for repatriation is made under any future Prisoner Transfer Agreement concluded between the UK and Libyan Governments. The commitment of the UK Government is a matter for it to confirm.

  Opportunities for recourse to the courts are ultimately a matter for the courts to determine, having regard to the facts and circumstances of any case presented to them.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount has been budgeted for the cost of the Shirley McKie inquiry and from which budget it will be financed.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to answer to question S3W-10920 on 14 March 2008. Planning and preparatory work for the inquiry is taking place under the guidance of Lord Justice Campbell. That work includes dialogue with the Scottish Government about budgetary matters. Further statements will be made in due course.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to monitor the effects on small and medium-sized public houses, in particular public houses in rural and more remote areas, of the increased costs of alcohol licences as a result of the implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government plans to ask the Accounts Commission to review the operation of the fee system introduced by the Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 after the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 comes fully into force on 1 September 2009.

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the increased costs of alcohol licences arising from the implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 if evidence emerges that such costs are causing the closure of small and medium-sized public houses, in particular public houses in rural and more remote areas.

Kenny MacAskill: Decisions to close licensed premises are likely to be taken in light of a number of factors, but the Scottish Government will ask the Accounts Commission to review the operation of the fee system introduced by the Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 after the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 comes fully into force on 1 September 2009.

Livestock

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the impact on the environment in the highlands and islands of the grazing of marginal land by beef cattle and, if so, what the findings were.

Richard Lochhead: While we have not made a specific assessment of the impact on the environment in the Highlands and Islands of the grazing of marginal land by beef cattle, a number of studies have shown that appropriate grazing by livestock maintains a range of habitats which are necessary to support particular species.

Local Government

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from parking fines in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2005-06 and (e) 2006-07.

Kenny MacAskill: In local authority areas where decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) has been introduced, any income accrued from penalty charge notices in respect of parking offences is retained by the council.

  DPE was introduced in the City of Edinburgh, Glasgow City, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen City, Dundee City and South Lanarkshire council areas as from October 1998, October 1999, October 2002, March 2003, April 2004 and February 2005 respectively.

  The information requested is given in the following publications:

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2002 in section 9.6, on page 18. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2004.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2003 in table 26, on page 45. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2005.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2004-05 in table 26, on page 46. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2006.

  Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2005-06 in table 31, on page 53. Published by the Scottish Executive in 2007.

  Copies of which are available are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 31304, 36012, 39481, 42387 respectively).

  In all other Scottish local authority areas, any income collected by the police and traffic wardens accrues to the Exchequer as these are criminal offences.

Local Government

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have submitted local agreements by 31 March 2008.

John Swinney: Draft proposals for single outcome agreements were submitted by all 32 councils by 1 April 2008. 30 were received on or before 31 March 2008, and two were received on 1 April 2008.

Local Government

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how MSPs will be able to access local agreements.

John Swinney: All single outcome agreements will be made publicly available once they have been agreed.

Local Government Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been set aside in the current spending review to fund nursery teachers.

Adam Ingram: For the spending review period 2008-11, most of the funding provided to local authorities will be absorbed into the local government finance settlement to give local authorities more freedom and more flexibility to meet both local needs and the national outcomes as agreed in the concordat and in our single outcome agreement with each local authority. This includes all funding for nursery teachers.

Local Government Finance

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much grant aided expenditure (GAE) was awarded to West Dunbartonshire Council in 2008-09 and what the comparative figure would have been if the GAE had been increased in line with the average annual increase across all local authorities.

John Swinney: Under the terms of the concordat with local government, the Scottish Government no longer uses grant aided expenditure provision to indicate the government’s spending priorities.

Local Government Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority did not receive but was due from outstanding parking fines in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2005-06 and (e) 2006-07.

Kenny MacAskill: The requested information is not held centrally.

Local Income Tax

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates a nationally set local income tax would raise in its first year.

John Swinney: The government published a paper on 18 March detailing revenue projections for a Local Income Tax. This is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The Bib. number for the publication is 45130.

Maritime Issues

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls originating from (a) public payphones and (b) mobile phones were made to raise the coastguard in each year since 1999.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive who patients should call for support for and advice on early signs of depression.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government awareness raising and active intervention strategies include Breathing Space, a national telephone advice and signposting service for those experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety. It is available nationally and free on 0800 83 85 87 and has a related website  www.breathingspacescotland.co.uk While protecting anonymity callers are offered advice and contacts within relevant local care and treatment services. Over 4,000 calls per month are received.

  Individuals have access to their primary healthcare team including their local GP practice team to discuss symptoms and concerns. The Scottish Government has published a patient pathway for primary practices in Scotland (Bib. number 45194) designed to strengthen the links between health, local authority, voluntary sector and others in offering medical and non medical sources of support, the latter through leisure, welfare, education, culture, employment, debt/benefits and other advice. Further guidance was published in 2007 on standards for Integrated Care Pathways for those with depression.

  Other avenues for advice include NHS 24, Community Pharmacists self help groups, local community support groups and relevant voluntary sector organisations.

  Planning is also at an advanced stage on establishing a pilot for a new telephone advice line, "NHS Living Life" to widen access to online and telephone based supports for those in need. This is of particular, but not exclusive, interest for remote and rural communities.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what services, including self-help services, are available for people with early signs of depression.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government awareness raising and active intervention strategies include Breathing Space, a national telephone advice and signposting service for those experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety. It is available nationally and free on 0800 83 85 87 and has a related website www.breathingspacescotland.co.uk . While protecting anonymity callers are offered advice and contacts within relevant local care and treatment services. Over 4,000 calls per month are received.

  Planning is also at an advanced stage on establishing a pilot for a new telephone advice line, "NHS Living Life" to widen access to online and telephone based supports for those in need. This is of particular, but not exclusive, interest for remote and rural communities.

  The GP contract provides additional resources to practices to make objective assessments to assess the severity of depression and provide appropriate information or interventions including self-help, lifestyle advice, and other evidence based interventions such as exercise. The pharmacy contract also enables some pharmacists to advise on mental health and wellbeing issues.

  New services are developing and being offered across the country to support self-help and other psychological interventions.

NHS Complaints

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints against the NHS resulted in compensation being claimed in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007, broken down by NHS board and also showing the amounts of compensation paid.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11176 on 14 April 2008, in relation to annual statistical information on complaints made under the NHS Complaints Procedure.

  Information on the number of complaints which resulted in compensation is not held centrally.

  The member may wish to refer to the answer to question S3W-8840 on 31 January 2008, which provides information on sums paid by the NHS to patients in the years 1997-98 to 2006-07 in respect of medical negligence claims made against health boards and special health boards.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Non-Domestic Rates

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in Glasgow will benefit from the recent business rates cut.

John Swinney: Information on small businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal ( www.saa.gov.uk ) for the Glasgow City Council area. This information is shown as follows:

  Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

  

 
 Rateable Value of Property


 Up to £8,000
£8,001-£10,000
£10,001-£15,000
 Total up to £15,000


 Glasgow City
 11,943
 1,628
 2,420
 15,991



  Notes:

  (i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

  (ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in all of the Glasgow City Council area.

  (iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

  - the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

  - whether or not the property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

  - the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

Planning

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who would have determined the Aviemore resort hotels master plan planning application and related planning applications under consideration by the Cairngorms National Park Authority if members locally had approved any of the applications with an outstanding objection from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and that application had then been notified to Scottish ministers.

Michael Russell: Under notification procedures, it would be for the planning minister, Stewart Stevenson, to determine whether the planning application required to be referred to him instead of being dealt with by the planning authority. If the planning minister were debarred from the decision-making process, e.g. by having a constituency interest, then another Scottish minister would make the decision on his behalf.

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints against the police were made in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007, broken down by force.

Kenny MacAskill: The Audit Scotland website stores this information centrally at:   http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/police/ .

  The following table shows the breakdown of complaints against the police by year and force.

  

 
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Central Scotland Police Board
 157
 160
 125
 132
 148


 Dumfries and Galloway Police Board
 31
 83
 81
 60
 59


 Fife Police Board
 215
 232
 204
 164
 132


 Grampian Police Board
 254
 272
 207
 209
 288


 Lothian and Borders Police Board
 633
 516
 472
 436
 505


 Northern Joint Police Board
 133
 118
 145
 190
 141


 Strathclyde Police Board
 970
 1,144
 1,235
 1,223
 1,379


 Tayside Police Board
 281
 305
 228
 291
 352



  Data for 2007-08 is not yet available.

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints against the police resulted in compensation being claimed in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007, broken down by force and also showing the amounts of compensation paid.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Pre-School Education

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to encourage recruitment of nursery staff in Angus.

Adam Ingram: Recruitment of nursery staff is the responsibility of employers and not the Scottish Government. We are however, developing an improved qualifications structure and framework to support the continuing professional development of all early years and child care workers.

  These developments should support the sector, making it a more attractive career choice for new entrants and encourage the professional development of the existing workforce.

Prison Service

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what stage the design and construction procurement process for the new prison at Low Moss has reached.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The design and construction procurement process for HM Prison Bishopbriggs will shortly be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. To facilitate the delivery of the construction phase SPS has recently awarded contracts for the demolition of HM Prison Low Moss and the realignment of a road in accordance with a planning requirement.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10133 by Kenny MacAskill on 3 March 2008, why the Scottish Prison Service definitions of attempted suicide and self-harm will not be aligned with the data protocols of the NHS Information Services Division.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  There is no requirement for alignment as NHS Information Services Division (ISD) does not collect attempted suicide and self-harm data direct from SPS. ISD use ICD10 codes to record morbidity and mortality relating to intentional self-harm and undetermined intent. Their primary source of such data is from the General Register Office for Scotland. The range of these codes is broad and not all relevant in a prison context.

  Events of self-harm in prison are generally restricted to a few types, and SPS aims for highly accurate and specific information that is beyond the scope of a national reporting system. The five modality options SPS has adopted to record identified episodes of attempted suicide and self-harm are:

  cutting: any scratching or laceration of the skin, no matter how superficial;

  swallowing: the deliberate ingestion of any item other than illicit drugs or prescribed medication;

  overdose: the deliberate ingestion of any illicit drug or prescribed medication with the intent to cause harm;

  ligature: the deliberate application of an item around the neck as a means of restricting the intake of air, and

  other: a free text option to record all other modalities.

Prison Service

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are followed in the Scottish Prison Service following allegations made by a prisoner against a prison officer.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  A prisoner has the right to make a complaint at any time to a residential officer under the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2006, Rule 123 (3). Under this rule, a complaint must be made in writing and the residential officer must give a written reply within 24 hours. If the prisoner is dissatisfied with the reply given he may refer the complaint in writing to the Residential Unit Manager. Again the Residential Unit Manager must give a written reply within 24 hours.

  Experience indicates some prisoners are comfortable in raising allegations against prison officers in this way. Others opt for direct access to the Governor. This is provided in the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules Rule 127 (Complaint to the Governor in relation to confidential matters). Under this rule the Governor is required to consider the complaint and inform the prisoner of his/her decision within seven days of the date on which the complaint was made, except where it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

  In the event that a complaint is of a serious nature and warrants a criminal investigation, it will be referred to the police.

Prison Service

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how long inquiries take to reach a finding following allegations made by a prisoner against a prison officer.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  In the event that an allegation is of such a serious nature that it requires investigation under the Scottish Prison Service Code of Conduct procedures there are laid down timescales for concluding the process. These timescales however may be subject to delay if for example the officer is absent on long-term sick leave or the allegation warranted a criminal investigation by the police, resulting in subsequent court appearances.

  The SPS Code of Conduct procedures may run in tandem with any criminal proceedings and where appropriate SPS Management may await the outcome of any criminal proceedings before making a decision.

  Timescales for fact-finding exercises or investigations may be amended at any stage by management. Normally this is done by mutual agreement."

  A copy of the SPS Code of Conduct is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45231).

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded self-harm incidents there were in each prison in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9092 on 18 February 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prison Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10124 by Kenny MacAskill on 28 February 2008, whether, in light of the refurbishment of Skye House, there are any proposals or plans to similarly replace centrally controlled lock down with keys in Bruce and Younger.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Skye and Peebles Houses accommodate convicted prisoners who have made suitable progression and have the appropriate supervision level to allow them keys to their rooms.

  Most of the prisoners located in Bruce and Younger Houses require a higher level of supervision and it would not be appropriate to allow them to leave their rooms during patrol and night shifts without a centralised control system.

  There are no current plans to replace the central locking system in Bruce and Younger Houses.

Rail Network

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the target date is for the procurement process of the Borders rail project to be completed.

Stewart Stevenson: The target date for the procurement process of the Borders rail project to be completed i.e. financial close with the preferred Bidder, is currently scheduled for the end of 2010.

Rail Network

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the project capital of the Borders rail project will be borrowed from financial markets.

Stewart Stevenson: It is anticipated that all capital for the Borders rail project will be borrowed from financial markets through the NPD Special Purpose Vehicle or via Network Rail’s Regulated Asset Base (RAB).

Renewable Energy

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much energy in total has been generated from renewable sources in each year since 1999, broken down by generation method.

Jim Mather: The information in the following table shows the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources in Scotland, broken down by year and fuel source. This information is based on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s (BERR) "Energy Trends" publication and from information provided directly by BERR. Figures for 1999 are not available in the format requested.

  Figures for heat are not available in the format requested. However, the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has recently estimated that up to 4% of Scotland’s heat demand is currently provided by renewables. The FREDS report is available from the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

  Electricity Generated in Gigawatt Hours (GWh) by Fuel Source

  

 Year
 Hydro Natural Flow
 Wind, Wave and Solar
Landfill Gas
 Other Renewables
 Total Renewables


 2000
 4,665
 217
 69
 21
 4,972


 2001
 3,738
 245
 109
 110
 4,202


 2002
 4,455
 406
 157
 80
 5,099


 2003
 2,902
 449
 228
 146
 3,725


 2004
 4,475
 848
 339
 173
 5,836


 2005
 4,588
 1,281
 395
 200
 6,464


 2006
 4,225
 2,023
 424
 290
 6,961



  Note: "Other biofuels" includes biofuels co-fired with fossil fuels.

Respite Care

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made towards its target of delivering 10,000 additional respite weeks per year.

Shona Robison: Progress towards delivering 10,000 extra respite weeks per annum is one of the commitments contained in the concordat signed with COSLA in November 2007. The concordat covers the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Progress against each of the commitments in the concordat will be reported annually at the end of each financial year.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who will determine whether an application under the Scottish Rural Development Programme meets the "national" criteria.

Richard Lochhead: Funding under the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) will be delivered through eight separate delivery mechanisms. A number of these mechanisms (e.g. Less Favoured Area Support Scheme) are non-competitive and therefore anyone who meets the predetermined eligibility criteria is considered to meet the national criteria and will receive funding.

  Other elements, such as Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities, are competitive. In the case of Rural Priorities, applications are assessed against a number of criteria by case officers, professional staff working for the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) or the Forestry Commission. One of the primary criteria used in this assessment is the extent to which the project is considered to be capable of delivering one or more of the regional priorities identified for the area. All of these regional priorities have been developed in conjunction with national and local stakeholders and have been checked to ensure that they can be linked back to the national objectives for the SRDP.

  Once assessed, the proposals will be presented to the Regional Proposal Assessment Committee for the area, who will make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment as to which proposals should receive funding.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Rural Development Programme budget will be devolved to local project assessment committees and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Richard Lochhead: The budget for the Scotland Rural Development Programme will be managed and monitored at a national level. This approach has been adopted to ensure that funding is directed to those proposals that make the greatest contribution to the achievement of the agreed regional priorities and deliver the greatest benefit for the people of Scotland, regardless of where they are located across the country.

School Meals

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) schools and (b) pupils are involved in the P1 to P3 free school meals pilot, broken down by local authority.

Adam Ingram: This information is available in Tables 6.1. and 6.4 of Pupils in Scotland 2007 , which can be found on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/02/25145216/0 .

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it approved the pay settlements now being introduced for Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) staff; how many SEPA staff have been served notices intimating that they must agree to new terms and conditions otherwise they will cease to be SEPA staff, and whether these pay arrangements apply to every member of staff.

Michael Russell: It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to set the broad policy framework for public sector pay in Scotland and, as with other bodies within the public sector in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is required to submit annual pay remits setting out its pay proposals for approval by ministers. SEPA’s pay remit covering 2006-07 and 2007-08 was approved by ministers in December 2006 and set the parameters for negotiations. Subsequent pay negotiations with the union, the detail of pay and grading of SEPA staff and implementation of the settlement are operational matters for SEPA’s management team, within overall financial limits set by the Scottish Government, and in accordance with policies and guidance on public sector pay. I have asked Dr Campbell Gemmell, Chief Executive of SEPA, to respond direct to the detailed issues you have raised.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is with regard to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issuing dismissal notices to hundreds of staff in connection with a proposed new pay and grading scheme, prior to a job evaluation exercise being completed.

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an assurance that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s proposed new pay and grading scheme will address all outstanding equal pay issues within the organisation.

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a ministerial statement about the proposed pay and grading scheme within the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Michael Russell: Pay and grading of Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) staff is an operational matter for SEPA’s management team, within overall financial limits set by the Scottish Government, and in accordance with policies and guidance on public sector pay. I have asked Dr Campbell Gemmell, Chief Executive of SEPA, to respond direct to the detailed issues you have raised.

Scottish Government Buildings

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its buildings will support the Earth Hour event taking place at 8.00 pm on 29 March 2008.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government did not specifically support the Earth Hour initiative on 29 March. It does, however, take steps to minimise unnecessary lighting in the buildings on its estate through a combination of automated control systems in some of the larger buildings and encouraging more effective use of lighting where no such controls are available.

Student Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many biomedical science students in the third and fourth years of study of their degree courses have applied for and received a bursary of £2,000 in each year since 2006 to encourage them to work in the NHS after graduation, broken down by university.

Fiona Hyslop: The following table gives the number of biomedical students who have applied for and who have been awarded a bursary of £2,000 to encourage them to work in the NHS after graduation, broken down by institution. The bursary was introduced in academic session 2007-2008. In academic year 2007-2008 it is available to third year (second year in Robert Gordon University) students only. As this academic session is not yet complete and institutions can nominate students to receive the bursary at any point during the academic year the numbers shown below may increase as the session progresses. The table shows numbers of applicants and numbers of recipients from start of the 2007-08 academic year up until 19 March 2008.

  

 Institution
Number of Biomedical ScienceBursary Applicants
Number of Biomedical ScienceBursaries Awarded


 Glasgow Caledonian University
 25
 25


 Robert Gordon University
 25
 25


 University of Abertay Dundee
 10
 10


 University of the West of Scotland
 5
 5


 Total
 60
 60



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) 2007-08 interim data To protect the identity of students, figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

  Note: In the above table all students are in their third year with the exception of those at Robert Gordon University who are in their second year.

Traffic

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to review the traffic regulation order process in order to improve efficiency and reduce cost.

Stewart Stevenson: When promoting Traffic Regulation Orders, local road authorities are required to follow the procedures contained in The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999. For trunk roads, Transport Scotland follow the procedures contained in The Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1987.

  The Scottish Government is not aware of any significant problems associated with the application of the current procedures and there are no plans at present to review these particular Regulations. However, as with all legislation, their effectiveness will be kept under review. If there is sufficient evidence that they are not working as they were intended, appropriate action will be taken to remedy the situation.

Transport

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10525 by Stewart Stevenson on 13 March 2008, when the Strategic Transport Project Review will commence; when the outcome will be known, and how it will be reported to the Parliament.

Stewart Stevenson: The Strategic Transport Projects Review commenced in August 2006 and the indicative transport investment plan arising from this review will be announced later this year.

Veterans Day

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to mark Veterans Day in Scotland.

Stewart Maxwell: National Veteran’s Day is an initiative of the Ministry of Defence and major decisions on the funding of events is a matter for them. We are aware that the MoD have made funding available to the cities of Stirling and Aberdeen and to the town of Kelso to facilitate Veterans’ Day events.

  The Scottish Government is fully supportive of these and other events across Scotland to recognise the valuable contribution that veterans make to our civic society and will work closely with local authorities and event organisers to provide assistance and support where appropriate. In doing so, ministers will carefully consider any requests for assistance with funding and any invitation to attend an event.

Veterans Day

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government about marking Veterans Day in Scotland.

Stewart Maxwell: National Veterans Day (NVD) is an initiative of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and major decisions about the funding of events to mark NVD are a matter for them. MoD officials have kept their Scottish Government counterparts informed of decisions to provide funding to the cities of Stirling and Aberdeen and to the town of Kelso for NVD events.

  The Scottish Government fully supports those communities across Scotland who choose to undertake activities to recognise the valuable contribution made by veterans and their families to Scotland’s civic society. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the MoD and other veterans’ organisations where the need arises to ensure that events in Scotland that are memorable and meaningful for our veterans’ communities.

Voluntary Sector

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it plans to offer voluntary organisations such as Depression Alliance Scotland whose Inverness group faces possible closure at the end of March 2008 due to a lack of available funding.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government strongly supports the work of the third sector. We are making £93 million available to the third sector over three years, a 37% increase on the last spending review.

  Supporting the voluntary sector is an important part of the spectrum of attention given to addressing the mental health priority in Scotland.

  Local level support is a matter for the local authority and other public bodies - who will make decisions based on local needs and priorities.

Waste Management

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what codes of conduct and practice were followed in the appointments to the membership of the Zero Waste Think Tank; what selection criteria were used, and who was responsible for making these appointments.

Richard Lochhead: The appointments were made by the Scottish ministers. Members are appointed in their personal capacity and are not appointed to represent any particular organisation. Members will provide advice to the Scottish Government on how best to move forward towards zero waste. The Think Tank is not a non-departmental public body and is expected to have a relatively short life so the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland does not apply. During the forthcoming review of the National Waste Plan, I will consult widely, including with representative bodies.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposals are to hand anent the inclusion of NHS wheelchair and seating services in the waiting times initiative.

Shona Robison: The wheelchair and seating services are currently reviewing their management of waiting times with a view to achieving the 18-week target for all patients by 2011. The project board will maintain an overview to ensure this is realised.

  Investment in reducing the waiting times from referral to assessment for wheelchairs has been made and has had a positive affect on those waits. Continued investment will build on the gains made, and in further addressing waiting times from assessment to wheelchair provision.